These comics explain the Panama Paper Leaks so easily that even a 5-year-old would get it

Newspapers, TV channels and even social media is filled with mentions of the Panama Paper Leaks- which have revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.

In a massive investigation, hundreds of journalists from 73 countries went through 11 million documents from the secret files of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm headquartered in tax haven Panama, to reveal some of the world's biggest names who have set up offshore entities in tax havens around the world.

This leak of confidential documents has again showed the lengths to which the rich and powerful go to stay rich and powerful.

Amidst all the madness, if you are having some trouble understanding what the Panama Paper Leaks are actually about and wondering what’s is the big deal about these leaks, don’t worry you’re not alone.

The explanation is indeed quite complicated. But, Redditor DanGliesack, explains the Panama Papers controversy in the simplest way.

He used piggy banks as a metaphor to help explain what was happening in Panama- foreigners setting up Panamanian shell companies to hold financial assets that obscure the identities of their real owners.

It’s so easy to understand that even a 5-year old would get it. And, now Vox went ahead and came up with a set of comics to go with the explanation that make the job even easier.

"When you get a quarter you put it in the piggy bank. The piggy bank is on a shelf in your closet. "

"Your mom knows this and she checks on it every once in a while, so she knows when you put more money in or spend it.Now one day, you might decide 'I don't want mom to look at my money.' "

"So you go over to Johnny's house with an extra piggy bank that you're going to keep in his room. "

"You write your name on it and put it in his closet. "

"Johnny's mom is always very busy, so she never has time to check on his piggy bank. So you can keep yours there and it will stay a secret."

"Now all the kids in the neighborhood think this is a good idea, and everyone goes to Johnny's house with extra piggy banks. "

"Now Johnny's closet is full of piggy banks from everyone in the neighborhood."

"One day, Johnny's mom comes home and sees all the piggy banks. She gets very mad and calls everyone's parents to let them know."


"Now in real life, many very important people were just caught hiding their piggy banks at Johnny's house in Panama.Today their moms all found out. Pretty soon, we'll know more about which of these important people were doing it for bad reasons and which were doing it for good reasons. But almost everyone is in trouble regardless, because it's against the law"

There. Pretty simple to understand, isn't it?